SAN DIEGO — QuintilesIMS executive Jim Hunter was presented the Harold W. Pratt Award at the 2017 NACDS Total Store Expo.

Hunter, vice president of supplier services at QuintilesIMS, received the award Sunday morning during the conference’s business program.

Jim Hunter

Named after longtime Walgreens executive Harold Pratt, the award is one of the top honors bestowed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

The Pratt Award recognizes those whose activities have contributed to the promotion, recognition and improvement of the practice of pharmacy in the chain drug industry, NACDS said.

“Jim is a great motivator of people, and he makes everyone feel good about what they do. He is a mentor and motivator to the team and an industry ambassador,” NACDS president chief executive officer Steve Anderson commented in presenting Hunter the award.

Hunter started his career as a teacher in Pennsylvania and later had a successful career in sales with Avis. He went on to becomes a district sales manager for Gillette and then joined Bristol-Myers Squibb as a director of national accounts. Hunter then moved to Novo Nordisk for 15 years before joining QuintilesIMS U.S., which provides integrated information and technology-enabled health care services, in 1983.

Anderson — saying “what better recognition of an individual than from his peers” — quoted Hunter’s colleagues and friends in recognizing his contributions. For example, Hossam Sadek, president of QuintilesIMS U.S. and Canada, stated, “He is a great mentor and taught a lot of people, including me, everything they know about the pharmacy retail industry.”

In addition, Anderson recognized two previous Pratt Award honorees who were present at the business program: 2004 recipient Bob Verscharen of Eckerd Corp. and 2012 recipient Doug Long of QuintilesIMS. Anderson also acknowledged the recent passing of Charlie Burnett of Costco Pharmacies, who received the Pratt Award in 2007.